I Vole You
by Cherazor
Summary: Love: Four letters. Two syllabies. A simple word... Still, Harry had troubles saying it.


_Just a silly little fic I wrote. I hope you enjoy. :)_

**I Vole You**

He, Harry Potter, had problems saying it.

At first it had all been about nervousness. Every time the time felt right, he became nervous and said something stupid.

"Hermione?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"I lo...ath doing homework!"

Or

"Hermione, I lo...st my quill?"

And once even

"Hermione... I-I...have to get my cheese of the month shipment!"

Every night he dreamed about how he would tell her, and how it would feel to do it. But in the end, she was the one who had done the talking.

"Harry," she had said, her cheeks pink, "I think we need to talk. You know, I... No. You see, I think... Well. We've been best friends for... Oh, how cliché am I sounding? We've seen each other almost everyday and I can't help feeling..." Her voice had became softer with every passing moment. "Feeling that I wouldn't want to _not _seeing you." She had paused at his blank face. "What I'm trying to say is... I have been in love with you for a long time." She had glanced down to the ground. "I do understand if you don't feel the same way, I just thought you had the right to know..."

And Harry? He had lifted her face gently, and smiled. He hadn't been able to do anything else; he had been to happy to do anything else. He just smiled. And that was all Hermione had needed.

But, time went by... and Harry still couldn't say it. Even though he now was certain Hermione loved him as much as he loved her. He just couldn't.

Every time Hermione would say "I love you, Harry." he would just smile or kiss her, hoping that she wouldn't notice.

"Harry..." she started one night, "we need to talk. You see I... Well... Oh, I'm going to hate this, won't I? Oh, just be straight with me, Harry. You never say you love me... am I... not enough?"

Harry sighed as he glanced around the empty common-room. There was no escape. "No, that's not it. I do lo..." he spluttered.

Hermione closed her eyes as tears started to cloud her vision. "You don't have to lie, Harry." she whispered. "I understand." She rose from her seat beside him.

"No!" he exclaimed loudly. "That's not what I mean." He pulled her back down beside him. "What I mean is... I just want to be sure if-"

"If you love me." she whispered sadly.

"No, no. I just have to be certain that-"

"You love me." she whispered even softer.

"No, it's just that I'm not sure that I-"

A tear strolled down her cheek. "I'm not beautiful enough, aren't I?" The words came out so softly he barely heard them.

"No! That's definitely not it. Hermione... I just..." He sighed, his head slumping. "I'm scared."

"Oh, Harry... I don't mean to push you. If-"

"Hermione, no. That's not what I mean." He sighed again. "It's... Voldemort. It's just that when I tell you, I want to be certain that I can tell you that for the rest of my life. Yours. Ours! I want to know if I can be there after the war. I want to be certain that I actually have something to offer you. Bloody hell, Hermione! I want to marry you some day and have one point three kids and a bloody swing! I just want be certain that I can do all that. That everything I say isn't empty promises. I need to know!"

Hermione threw her arms around him with a sob. "Oh, Harry... I understand you. I do. I'm sorry for pushing you..." She sniffed. "But I needed to know. You never said anything... How am I supposed to know if you never tell me?"

Harry patted her head gently. "Yeah, well... I've never been known for being smooth with girls."

Hermione gave out a small laugh. "I suppose not." She hiccuped.

"I do," he coughed something under his breath. "You do know that, right?"

She frowned. "Maybe," She hiccuped. "You need another word for it."

He shrugged. "It gets a bit awkward, doesn't it?"

Hermione nodded absently. "What about '_vole'_ ?"

He grinned, planting a kiss on her forehead. "You're brilliant, you do know _that_, right?" he whispered into her ear.

She smiled. "I love you, Harry."

"I _vole_ you, Hermione. More than you'll ever know. We have to do something about that hiccup of yours, though."

She laughed.


End file.
